Role of the Revolutionary Organisation

Revolutionary Organisation & Social Work

The revolutionary organisation seeks to contribute to the theoretical and practical development of revolutionary struggle. The revolutionary organisation participates in working class movements in order to nurture their revolutionary potential. It strives to retain a historical memory of its experiences of success and failures in order to strengthen the social movements for liberation. It participates in social movements as equals in struggle. The revolutionary organisation should be a tool for the active and militant members within the class. It never seeks to dominate, impose upon, manipulate, command or control social movements in recognition of the need for revolutionary pluralism, and that those movements not the revolutionary organisation are the revolutionary agent of social transformation. However, the revolutionary organization recognises that the phenomena of “liberal drift” is always present within movements because it is the dominant ideology in society. The organisation therefore seeks to correct this liberal drift within social movements with principled arguments and counter proposals.

The revolutionary organization should seek to organise intermediate organisations within social movements that unite activists and militants around shared tactics and goals, always working towards making anarchist communism the leading thought within social movements while building up their capacity for revolution. Participating in mass struggle builds the capacity of the revolutionary organisation and social movements to take direct action and shift power relations. It allows both to experience collective power through struggle. The revolutionary organisation proposes collective solutions to everyday problems whether that be directly confronting our oppressors or constructing alternative institutions against capitalism and the state.

The revolutionary organisation does this in order to build a social base for anti-authoritarian approaches towards social transformation that is rooted in the struggles of working class and oppressed people. The revolutionary organisation works within mass struggles to combat isolation, share resources, extend mutual aid networks and link different struggles together. It works within rank and file movements and mass organisations. It strives to counteract authoritarian, bureaucratic and reformist tendencies by advocating horizontal, directly democratic and revolutionary forms of organising within mass movements.

The revolutionary organisation in its movement works to create positive relationships with other sympathetic activists and organisations. It avoids public condemnation of sympathetic groups who use different tactics. In this way it can develop an active periphery of supporters and allies who find themselves in agreement with aspects of its work and ideas. However, the revolutionary organization shouldn’t ignore the hegemony reformist parties and NGOs hold over the social movements. This hegemony has an effect of hampering the social movements revolutionary potential. Therefore the revolutionary organisation seeks to act as a bulwark against this hegemony and its subsequent liberal drift.

Revolutionary Organisation & Political Work

Internal Development & Education

The revolutionary organisation develops its members through education and training in organising skills as well as theory. It strives to empower its members to create and strengthen movements. The revolutionary organisation is a school for learning and teaching the tools of social change as broadly as possible.

The revolutionary organisation creates a space to cultivate and develop new conscious revolutionaries, always prioritising quality over quantity. It is a space for dialogue and discussion to continually build a shared analysis and the development of its members, supporters, and comrades from struggles. Where members can learn from others with different experiences.

The revolutionary organisation does this work in order to build self-confidence, knowledge, skills and opportunities to practice these methods in social movements. For the revolutionary organisation skill building is a permanent goal. The revolutionary organisation is an organisation of equals not a group with leaders and followers, so it is always striving to develop its members’ capabilities for struggle.

Popular Education & Propaganda

The revolutionary organisation produces anti-authoritarian and educational propaganda. It does this through the creation of media that communicates the views and political perspectives of the organisation. It promotes its views in print as well as online media, through public events and actions. The revolutionary organisation strives to build a visible presence for its ideas, methods, and tactics in order to popularise a revolutionary culture.

The revolutionary culture the organisation strives to promote is one of popular combativity, creativity, solidarity, mutual aid, anti-racist, internationalism, anti-patriarchy, anti-capitalist, and anti-state. It does this by developing agitational and education materials that convey these ideas. These materials have to be crafted in ways that appeal to diverse sections of the populace with varying educational skill sets. Materials should convey complex ideas in ways that are clear and stated in plain ways. Emphasis on posters, videos, art, graffiti, speaking events, all in connection with longer documents, magazines, and books. The revolutionary organisation also does this by hosting social and cultural activities that broadly reflect the concepts and practice of the revolutionary organisation and its members.

Organisational Principles of the Revolutionary Organisation

Strategic & Theoretical Coherence

The revolutionary organization, as a collection of individuals with different ideas, will operate from the points of unity that are established through discussion. After understanding the commonalities and how they can work together, Anarchists seek to build theoretical and strategic coherence through both debate and hands on learning in social movements

The revolutionary organisation is based on strategic and theoretical unity. A clearly defined and shared political perspective and orientation. It has a common vision to guide joint activity and cooperation between its members. It is always working towards a clarification of its role. It strives to provide a forum for and promote a culture of discussion, analysis and debate in order to theorise and synthesise ideas on how to confront Capitalism, the State, and all other oppressions.

The revolutionary organisation looks to the present historical moment to develop its thought, by reflecting on its participation in the social struggles of its day. In this way theory and strategy are informed directly from practice in struggles. It develops common goals and coordinates members’ efforts to achieve them. It develops tactical approaches to achieving strategic goals, while maintaining tactical flexibility to facilitate the adaptation of these goals to its regional and local circumstances. The revolutionary organisation collectively reviews its successes and failures and tries to learn from them. Most importantly it is concerned with the real needs and tasks of day to day organising. Revolutionary strategy and theory is taken from the experience of working directly within mass movements.

A Charter of Radical Ethics

The revolutionary organization’s influence is based on the confidence placed in it by those in social movements and communities. In order to build and maintain this confidence, all members must strive to embody the values of this charter to maintain and increase its influence.

Organisational Culture of Accountability & Direct Democracy

The organisational principles of the revolutionary organisation serve to strengthen its efficiency and effectiveness in developing its ideas and strategies within social movements. The revolutionary organisation is a tool of its members and sympathisers within social movements. In order to do this, the revolutionary organisation must have an organisational culture of accountability and direct democracy. It practices this internally by operating as a direct democracy. Instead of representation the organisation operates using delegation. Delegates and responsibilities are mandated by and instantly re-callable by the membership.

The revolutionary organisation is also a political home for revolutionaries. A place for its membership to feel supported and safe. The revolutionary organisation strives to achieve an internal organisational culture based on respect, principled behaviour and accountability to each other that fights all forms of domination and oppression. It does this through an active practice of challenging all forms of oppression within itself, its relationships, and its associated organisations. This responsibility for maintaining an organisational culture of accountability is that of the entire membership. The membership is responsible for and accountable for the memberships’ actions. To do this the membership defines clear guidelines to proactively solve issues before they happen.

Anarchist Communists Meanjin organise on the occupied lands of the Jagera, Yugara, Yugarapul, and Turrbal Nations. We pay our respects to elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.